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Monday, March 26, 2012

It's Monday! Just one more week before Ethan Allen announces the winner of their The One Ethan Allen Challenge! I'm excited and stressed out!!! And if you haven't voted for my bedroom design yet, please do!

To be honest, the Facebook likes account only for 10% of the total score so while I do want you to vote for me (and me alone!), I can be pretty magnanimous and not get mad if you vote for the other rooms, too. I'm joking. Of course I'll get mad! No, I'm kidding. It really is just 10% of the score so I'm more concerned with getting the judges' approval in the other criteria, which I really tried to meet. Here they are:

Highlight of the One Ethan Allen piece was easy. As you can see from my bedroom set-up, the Jensen headboard is the central piece. I don't think anyone can miss that bed! It just dominates the space. So in this criteria, I think I have tough competition from Jane since she really did a great job highlighting the white armchair in her set-up.

I really designed my room around the bed:

As for the style criteria, I truly do believe the personal touches of photos, baby things, flowers, books added charm to the room. Of course, because I was designing for a family, the "personality" had to be toned down. The other rooms showed individuality better.

Visual impact category, I think I did really well here. While every room has its own fab look, my bedroom has the most comments about how the viewers liked the look, the style, and how they want to own it. That means the design triggered a response from people, a call to action of actually dreaming and wanting and perhaps even buying!

I'd like to give special thanks to my design consultants Sharon and Angel because they gave advice on how to create stronger impact. For example, they suggested that I use the mirrored chest instead of a little side table and to add a lamp on it because it will warm up the space.

Space utilization is again a category I think I'll ace. While my room is primarily a master's bedroom, it also has little pockets of space for the kids and for relaxation, like reading. It's a multi-functional space that doesn't look crowded and cluttery.

As for votes, well, I'm lagging waaaay behind there! And that's where you come in! Vote for me and please LIKE my bedroom! I really really really want that gorgeous tufted headboard!

Sunday, March 25, 2012

I haven't watched Hunger Games yet but it is definitely the movie to watch this weekend. So since I haven't watched it, I'm not doing a movie review. I'll just tell you why Vince thinks there's no contest between Gale and Peeta (guy in black shirt). Yes, my husband read the book!

Seems like everyone's taking sides on which boy Katniss should pick. Vince says Gale never had a chance. And his reason is simple: If the girl you cared for was picked to go to the Hunger Games, you'd volunteer to take her place. That's what Katniss did for her sister. Vince said, "That's what I'd do for you." He added that he'd make sure he'd win, too, so that he can come back to me, with all the lifetime winnings of a champion, and take care of me!

*Insert kilig moment here*

Well, it's always been obvious to me that Peeta wins hands down but my reason is silly. Peeta had me at "She came here with me." There could be no other guy after that! Enjoy your weekend!

Friday, March 23, 2012

I’ve been wanting to hop on a plane for a while now and go anywhere (well, to the beach mostly) but because of my pregnancy, I’ve been stuck here in sweltering Manila. So when Vince and I passed by MUJI Power Plant last weekend and found out that they have a fabulous contest, can you imagine my dismay? I’d love to join MUJI’s travel promo but since I can’t, let me tell you all about it.

MUJI just launched its super popular “MUJI To GO” raffle contest just this past weekend. From March 16 to April 9 next month, every P5,000 worth of purchases of any MUJI To GO travel item on a single receipt gets you a raffle ticket. Here are some of the MUJI To GO travel collection*:

Canvas Totes

Cotton Linen Backpack

Hanging Toiletries Case

UV-Cut Multi-Way Cape

TP Clear Pouch with PET and PP Bottles

That raffle coupon may just win you one of the following fantabulous prizes!

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Remember this photo? It's from our magazine staff shoot that I mentioned in passing last week or so. A reader asked me why I didn't do my usual behind-the-scenes post of the staff shoot. Well, because I've already done that! So I figured you didn't need to see another been-there-done-that story.

But the real reason I didn't blog about the shoot is I forgot to bring the Olympus camera hehehe. I now think that if the photo wasn't taken by our Olympus, it's not worth posting. There is clearly a huge difference, folks. I always discouraged Vince from buying a camera (too expensive--and we already buy our cameras and lenses from Amazon and eBay, which sell far cheaper) until we got pregnant with Vito. After that, everyone keeps commenting on how fantastic our photos are!

Anyway, I did take a few shots with my Blackberry.

Byron of MAC made me up.

That is a face full of foundation and eye makeup!

And this is our "wacky shot." As you can see, what looks like too much makeup is actually just right under the bright glare of the studio lights.

So cute that my staff kids enjoy wacky shots. Being older than the rest of them, I seriously do not understand wacky shots. Whenever the photographer calls out, "Okaaaaaaay, guys, wacky shot!", it makes me wince! But I'm no killjoy so I do the requisite screwing up of the face anyway. For more wacky shots, go check out Elaine's blog, Tralaland.

Okidoki, sorry if I've been MIA again. Been busy with the mommy blog. It's really growing! I have another giveaway there right now so if you're pregnant or know someone who is, join the contest! I've also been occupied with promoting the bedroom Vince and I designed for the Ethan Allen contest we joined. If you haven't voted for me yet, please LIKE my photo! Thanks!

Friday, March 16, 2012

Since then, Vince and I have been roaming Manila's furniture shops, department stores and bed boutiques looking for the perfect tufted headboard. We've found a few but they never did quite meet our standards. So when Ethan Allen announced that they had a design contest and a tufted headboard was one of the prizes, it was kismet!

Ethan Allen's rules were simple:
1. Choose one piece from their collection and highlight it.
2. Create a concept about how any space--big or small--can be made lovely with the right furniture and accessories.
3. Design an entire room around the chosen piece. I can use other Ethan Allen pieces and my own furniture and accessories.

Of course you all know what that one Ethan Allen piece I chose! I chose the Jensen tufted headboard!

Here's the concept I came up with (special thanks to the advice and active participation of my wonderful husband, the one with the real taste in design—Vince Sales!):

Sunday, March 11, 2012

I keep muttering about how I am taking on too much and then just last week, I took on yet another project! Insanity!!! I'll tell you more about this exciting new thing I've been up to on Thursday (I want to tell you now but the official announcement is scheduled on Thursday!) but if you follow me on Twitter, you'd know I've joined a contest and the prize is really making Vince and me giddy giddy giddy!

Okay, shhh. I can't say anything about it till Thursday so I'll just post a pregnant photo of me:

Yep, nothing special, just a really comfy dress from Mango that I wore for our magazine staff shoot last Friday. I'm going to have my belly button Photoshopped off--it seriously looks like a third nipple! I also felt very huge beside my super skinny staff--all of them lithe limbs and flat stomachs. Grrr! Even the other pregnant woman in my staff, Joanna, just looked like she has a fake belly because the rest of her is still so slim.

I'll be 8 months preggers this Friday! I am sooo excited! Vince, too. We can't wait to meet Wiggle-y Poo! I guess that's why I'm also just grabbing every opportunity now, despite my overly packed schedule, because I really think that once Wiggle is born, I'm going to hibernate. Just focus on my family, take care of the babies, lovey-dovey the hubby again, maybe redecorate.

I'll miss you an awful lot, though. My blogging friends have always been there for me and I can't imagine not blogging. So we'll see how it goes after May! Oh my, May is just around the corner! Soooo excited!

Tuesday, March 06, 2012

Last week, Vince and I attended a chi-chi lunch at Enderun for a mystery product launch. Lunch was just a lovely light salad and an equally light main dish of bouillabaisse. Why such light fare? Because the hosts stuffed us full with dessert! Trays upon trays of the most delectable Belgian bars and coolers full of the new Selecta Magnum ice cream bars.

Now, we had no idea that we were invited to the Magnum launch. Everyone was pretty hush-hush about it. I was thinking a new line of ice cream again, like the Gold Series, which I love! The Hazelnut Brownie is my fave--I almost always have a tub of it in the freezer. So when the waiters brought out the Magnum bars, I was surprised. Everyone was so excited and giddy (or was it sugar high haha) because everyone in the room seemed to have had this bar when they traveled abroad.

Event was pretty much packed with media. Print, TV and online! Magnum was also launching its ambassadors, you see, and celebrities are always attractions:

My favorite is the Almond. Yep, I've tried them all. A bar a day and then I tried them all again (so that's 6 days) just to check if I really liked what I liked. And, yep, it's the nuttiness of the almonds that I love!

Speaking of nuts, are you on Twitter? Twitter was just going nuts about Magnum. One of my friends was starting to get annoyed: "Bakit puros Magnum ang nakikita ko sa Twitter feed ko? Ano ba yang Magnum na yan?!" Well, that's viral marketing for you! She ended up buying all three flavors, too!

So have you tried the Selecta Magnum ice cream bar? What do you think?

Monday, March 05, 2012

Tee hee. So now you know my secret! I've tried extensions and expensive blow outs but nothing beats good old rollers!

Oh, and that's Vito, the first time he saw me in rollers (he was 8 months old then). He thought the curlers were hilarious. Now that he sees me with rollers regularly, he pays them no mind. Although he always looks amazed when I come out of the bathroom looking gorgeous!

About Me

Hi! I'm Frances. I'm a wife and mommy, and I write for a living. My blog is an honest and safe space for working moms, mothers of boys, and bloggers who want to build a business with their blogs. We'll have fun here. Welcome and thanks for dropping by!